Culture / Travel

Prime Downtown Houston Spot to be Transformed Into a New Boutique Hotel

The C. Baldwin Pays Homage to a Brash Early H-Town Trendsetter

BY // 01.09.19

Far more than merely an upgrade of the long-in-the-tooth DoubleTree by Hilton at Allen Center, the 354-room property is undergoing a major transformation thanks to the talents of highly-acclaimed architect Lauren Rottet of Houston-based Rottet Studio and Philadelphia-based interior designer Kate Rohrer of ROHE Creative.

Although the hotel continues to serve the Allen Center campus, at the moment, it is something of a construction site as work crews are sheet rocking, hammering and installing everything new. When the multi-million dollar project is completed in early summer, the property will not only have a new look — rethought and refashioned — but also a new name as it will be rebranded as the C. Baldwin, an independent hotel operated under the Hilton umbrella. The name was selected in homage to one of Houston’s little known pacesetters.

Hello, Charlotte Baldwin Allen, wife of New York real estate speculator Augustus Chapman Allen, who officially co-founded Houston with his brother John Kirby Allen in 1836. After her husband fell ill and retreated to Mexico, Baldwin remained in Houston and used her inheritance to finance much of the city’s early growth. History remembers that she was the primary financial driver of Houston’s entire construction industry of the day, bankrolling the navy and building the short-lived Capitol of the Republic of Texas.

While some might consider the historic nod a bit kitchy with the “new” hotel story emphasizing Baldwin as “a deedless developer, brand-wielding cattle rancher, brash businesswoman and tireless philanthropist,” there is meat in the pitch. Former Houston first lady Andrea White, in fact, describes the city’s early generator as a “kick ass woman.” The C. Baldwin is poised to kick ass in the downtown hotel scene.

While Brookfield, Allen Center owner, would welcome Baldwin’s blessing on the metamorphosis, owners are counting on satisfying the wants and desires of business travelers as well as leisure travelers taking advantage of the downtown location and easy access to the Theater District, bustling Midtown and the Main Street Metro line which delivers riders directly to the Museum District.

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